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A Review of Naija and Urhobo Languages in Nigeria

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A Review of Naija and Urhobo Languages in Nigeria Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies (ISSN: 2321 – 2799) Volume 02– Issue 01, February 2014 Effects of Modernity on African Languages: A Review of Naija and Urhobo Languages in Nigeria Ufuoma Emmanuel Tonukari1, Lucky Ejobee2, Eseoghene Aleh3, Aloysius Ikechukwu Orjinta4 1,2,3Department of Languages & Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria 4University of Nigeria, Nigeria. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT--- Studies over the years have shown that there is a swift change in the language situation in post colonial Africa especially in the urban centers where some new forms of linguistic codes are being introduced over existing ones thus initiating a new nomenclature which could alter the linguistic pattern of Africa. To a large extent, this change is ascribed to the growing effect of modernization and the dynamics of language (which is normal and unstoppable). This paper has two objectives. First, a modest attempt to present the language shift in Africa by looking at some countries with particular reference to the Nigerian situation where Naijá (hitherto called the Nigerian Pidgin) is highly influential and serves as lingua franca for the majority of the population of Nigeria. Secondly, to look at one of the Edoid languages (Urhobo) in the Southern part of Nigeria, with reference to the effect of modernity on culture to ascertain if Naijá is a killer language. The general findings show that Naijá will continue to subdue Urhobo language and other languages in Nigeria if appropriate steps are not taken. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION Different factors are responsible for linguistic change but very often, it is traced to a contact situation at a designated period of time. Hence the assertion by some researchers that language contact is prone to language change which is evident in many speech communities. In respect to change we shall align our thought with the quote by Robert Nicholai (2007:11) on language contact that: There come times when the place of fact in a descriptive configuration changes, when new topics become relevant, when all phenomena can no longer be easily accounted for, when explanatory principles lose their absolute validity. A change of perspective upsets the descriptive framework and diverts attention to new problems which presage conceptual renewal and theoretical reconstruction founded on a changed understanding of the reality to be described. The subject of language contact is currently undergoing a process of this kind. This process of change highlighted here could be said to be universal because it is felt virtually in all linguistic communities all over the world although to different degrees. It has given rise to some new studies as Matras (2008:1) rightly highlighted: Manifestations of language contact are found in a great variety of domains, including language acquisition, language processing and production, conversation and discourse, social functions of language and language policy, typology and language change, and more. There have been lots of works on language oriented activities in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe but not necessarily in Africa where 25 per cent of the world’s languages are spoken, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal and F. K. Erhard Voeltz (2007). When language issues patterning Africa are discussed, two languages basically come to mind. One is the language inherited from the colonial masters and the other is the indigenous African language spoken by a given linguistic community. Language in Africa has become, over the years, not only an indispensable complement but the most permanent instrument of upholding culture. It articulates, refines and promotes cultural evolution as well as transmits and translates trends, Tonukari (2009). Today, there seems to be a resentment given the dwindling situation of African culture which is alleged to be as a result of the presence of Western languages and cultures. In this work, we focus on the language change in Africa with particular reference on Naijá (sometimes referred to, all through this work by its former name, Nigerian Pidgin), which is seen as a strong force waxing stronger with the Asian Online Journals (www.ajouronline.com) 100 Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies (ISSN: 2321 – 2799) Volume 02– Issue 01, February 2014 capacity to reshape the linguistic pattern of the country with direct effect on ethnic languages. We shall attempt to analyze the outcome of some changes from the perspective of speakers of some African languages as presented by some researchers as well as taking a particular example of this change of language attitude of the Urhobo people, found in the southern part of Nigeria. We shall be more particular how language contact has shaped or enriched the Urhobo language over the years, the recent attitude towards the language which has given birth to a new cultural activism aimed not only at cultural documentation but for revitalization of the language. 2. CONTEMPORARY LANGUAGE SITUATION IN URBAN CENTERS IN AFRICA In the analysis of the interface between colonization and globalization in the African context, Vigouroux and Mufuene (2008:1) insist among other factors that there is an emergence of new language repertoire and new division of labour among the coexistent language, as well as new dynamics of competition and selection among them regarding their vitality. Thus, the language situation in Africa could be said to be facing some inevitable changes and in the near future we shall either be seeing some new sets of languages or redefining old languages as a result of ‘language shift’, a term first used by Uriel Weinreich (1968:68) to paint the picture of change from what he explains as ‘habitual use of one language to that of another.’ We would rather prefer the definition of the term ‘language shift’ given by Dauenhauer Nora Marks and Dauenhauer Richard (1998) quoting Fishman (1991) who refers to the fact that over the last two or more generations, language use in most native communities has shifted, and the shift is toward loss of the indigenous, tribal language in favour of national and world languages. This shift according to Rajend Mesthrie et al (2000) is “the replacement of one language by another as the primary means of communication and socialization within a community.” In the African context, this would be more outstanding especially in the urban centers where there is an increase in social interactions of people from different ethnic background. A common feature of such interaction is change in the dominant language which according to Rajend Mestherie et al (2000) “are due to ‘external’ influence from other languages, rather than with ‘internal’ change.” In this state of change, borrowing of words from other languages is not an issue but rather a predictable phenomenon obtainable in all languages. Linguistic changes ravaging the big cities in Africa have been brought to the limelight by some scholars in their works over the years. Sophie Babault work (2001) shows clearly from her survey that the young people in Madagascar, especially in the big cities like Antananarivo, inculcate a lot of French words when they speak Malagasy (a language spoken throughout Madagascar by the entire population). De Féral (2004) describes the use of ‘Camfranglais’ in Cameroun which is gradually becoming the language of the youth. Camfranglais is a mélange, a juxtaposition of some Cameroonian ethnic languages, French and English to arrive at a given linguistic code which is spreading in the major cities like Douala, Yaounde, Nkongsamba, Garoua, Bamenda, etc. Suzanne Lafage (1998) takes a critical look at the situation too in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire where a new form of language, ‘Nouchi’ which is believed to have emerged from Adjamé, a densely populated area of Abidjan where they have people from different ethnic backgrounds. This language is not only reshaping the French language spoken in Cote d’Ivoire, but it brings about freedom to create so many new words. Take for instance some examples given by Lafage (1998: 286) “il dit je kata dja c’est Pape lui même qui est là” In this sentence, although the words are wrongly spelt but what is paramount is the complete absence of conjunction which is like a trademark for most young Ivoirians especially the ones residing in the Adjamé area of Abidjan. 3. LANGUAGE SITUATION IN NIGERIA The linguistic ‘twist’ in Africa is also evident in Nigeria which Blench (1998) classifies as “… the most complex country in Africa, linguistically, and one of the most complex in the world” where the English language which is the official language has evolved to have a variety peculiar to Nigeria which is known today as Nigerian English. It ranges from how words are pronounced to grammatical structure. Phonologically in Nigerian English there is often no distinction between words like chip and cheap; caught and court. In the grammatical structure, one hears “they understand themselves” instead of “they understand one another”. But the most remarkable language one will notice everywhere in Nigeria is the Nigerian Pidgin, the only veritable language of inter-language communication, a lingua franca. We shall adopt the definition of pidgin as given by George Yule (2007:233-234) as “a variety of a language (e.g English) which develops for some practical purpose, such as trading among groups of people who had a lot of contact but who did not know each other’s languages.” In the case of Nigerian Pidgin, it is the outcome of the contact between Europeans and Nigerians. Obviously, they came to Africa through ships and the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria, given its disposition to the Bight of Benin became a gateway for the early Europeans to gain access to the heart of Nigeria sailing through the creeks upwards the River Niger. This is why there is a very strong and uncontestable agreement among scholars that the Nigerian pidgin originated from the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria.
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